European Thought and Culture, 1350-1992 : Burdens of Knowing

This book explores the main currents of European thought between 1350 and 1992, which it approaches in two principal ways: culture as produced by place and the progressive unmooring of thought from previously set religious and philosophical boundaries. The book reads the period against spatial thought’s history (spatial sciences such as geography or Euclidean geometry) to argue that Europe cannot be understood as a continent in intellectual terms or its history organized with respect to traditional spatial-geographic categories. Instead we need to understand European intellectual history in terms of a culture that defined its own place, as opposed to a place that produced a given culture. It then builds on this idea to argue that Europe’s overweening drive to know more about humanity and the cosmos continually breached the boundaries set by venerable religious and philosophical traditions. In this respect, spatial thought foregrounded the human at the unchanging’s expense, with European thought slowly becoming unmoored, as it doggedly produced knowledge at wisdom’s expense. Michael J. Sauter illustrates this by pursuing historical themes across different chapters, including European thought’s exit from the medieval period, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, the Industrial Revolution, and war and culture, offering a thorough overview of European thought during this period. The book concludes by explaining how contemporary culture has forgotten what early modern thinkers such as Michel de Montaigne still knew, namely, that too little skepticism toward one’s own certainties makes one a danger to others. Offering a comprehensive introduction to European thought that stretches from the late fourteenth to the late twentieth century, this is the perfect one-volume study for students of European intellectual history. This book explores the main currents of European thought between 1350 and 1992, which it approaches in two principal ways: culture as produced by place and the progressive unmooring of thought from previously set religious and philosophical boundaries. The book reads the period against spatial thought’s history (spatial sciences such as geography or Euclidean geometry) to argue that Europe cannot be understood as a continent in intellectual terms or its history organized with respect to traditional spatial-geographic categories. Instead we need to understand European intellectual history in terms of a culture that defined its own place, as opposed to a place that produced a given culture. It then builds on this idea to argue that Europe’s overweening drive to know more about humanity and the cosmos continually breached the boundaries set by venerable religious and philosophical traditions. In this respect, spatial thought foregrounded the human at the unchanging’s expense, with European thought slowly becoming unmoored, as it doggedly produced knowledge at wisdom’s expense. Michael J. Sauter illustrates this by pursuing historical themes across different chapters, including European thought’s exit from the medieval period, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, the Industrial Revolution, and war and culture, offering a thorough overview of European thought during this period. The book concludes by explaining how contemporary culture has forgotten what early modern thinkers such as Michel de Montaigne still knew, to wit, that too little skepticism toward one’s own certainties makes one a danger to others. Offering a comprehensive introduction to European thought that stretches from the late fourteenth to the late twentieth century, this is the perfect one-volume study for students of European intellectual history. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 11 Preface 12 Introduction: Nosce Te Ipsum 14 1 Imagining Europe 27 2 Ancient thought and the medieval synthesis I 40 3 Ancient thought and the medieval synthesis II 52 4 Borrowed syntheses—medieval Muslim and Jewish thought 63 5 Post-medieval syntheses 78 6 The spatial reformation 90 7 Humanism and the Southern Renaissance 102 8 Humanism and the Northern Renaissance 116 9 The Protestant revolution 129 10 Tolerance and the culture of doubt 140 11 Law, God, and magic 150 12 A new certainty 162 13 The Scientific Revolution I 174 14 The Scientific Revolution II 184 15 Jesuits, Jansenists, and other heretics 194 16 Science as religion 206 17 From nature to state 215 18 “Platos” many and varied 227 19 A world of numbers 237 20 The invention of history 248 21 The power of reason 259 22 Progressive intolerance 274 23 The production of isms 284 24 The Industrial Revolution and its discontents 303 25 Space and race 318 26 From urbanization to urbanity 334 27 Novels, writers, and readers 344 28 Sex, gender, and the critical mind 354 29 Prophecy from the margins 370 30 Situating the social 382 31 The new social science 395 32 The First World War and European culture 409 33 The science of rootlessness 424 34 The vacuum of knowledge 435 35 From the ashes 447 Conclusion: good-bye to all that 463 Glossary of terms 476 Index 487 Introduction: Nosce Te Ipsum -- Imagining Europe -- Ancient thought and the Medieval synthesis I -- Ancient thought and the Medieval synthesis II -- Borrowed syntheses-Medieval Muslim and Jewish thought -- Post-Medieval syntheses -- The spatial Reformation -- Humanism and the Southern Renaissance -- Humanism and the Northern Renaissance -- The Protestant Revolution -- Tolerance and the culture of doubt -- Law, God, and magic -- A new certainty -- The Scientific Revolution I -- The Scientific Revolution II -- Jesuits, Jansenists, and other heretics -- Science as religion -- From nature to state -- Platos many and varied -- A world of numbers -- The invention of history -- The power of reason -- Progressive intolerance -- The production of isms -- The Industrial Revolution and its discontents -- Space and race -- From urbanization to urbanity -- Novels, writers, and readers -- Sex, gender, and the critical mind -- Prophecy from the margins -- Situating the social -- The new social science -- The First World War and European culture -- The science of rootlessness -- The vacuum of knowledge and its isms -- From the ashes -- Conclusion: Good-bye to all that "This book explores the main currents of European thought between 1350 and 1992, which it approaches in two main ways; culture as produced by place and the progressive unmooring of thought from previously set religious and philosophical boundaries. Offering a comprehensive introduction to European thought that stretches from the late fourteenth to the late twentieth century, this is the perfect one-volume study for students of European intellectual history"-- Provided by publisher